


Whiplash

by gutturalmess



Series: Deleted Scenes [12]
Category: CodotVerse, DC - Fandom, DCU, Rogues Podcast
Genre: Catch Me If You Can (an Edward Nygma and Selena Kyle tag), Edward being a manipulative bastard, F/M, I can almost guarantee it, Just like Edward I live to disappoint, No refunds, Pulling their strings (an Edward Nygma tag), This will not be the RiddleCat you're looking for, Woman on Fire (a Selena Kyle tag)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26820463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutturalmess/pseuds/gutturalmess
Summary: Never risk more than you can afford to lose.I've been waiting on a CV canon event to happen before I could post this, but then realised that as a relationship study it can stand on its own without the prop of context.
Relationships: Edward Nygma/Selena Kyle
Series: Deleted Scenes [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1044510
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	Whiplash

From his vantage position several blocks away, Edward could see the alarms going off; he turned his head at the sound of her footsteps.

“Here you go,” Selena said, handing over a sheaf of papers with a smug grin; Edward accepted them and took a moment to ensure they were in order.

“Job seems done,” he said, reading.

“It was easy,” she preened; he looked up.

“Where’s the rest?”

Selena raised her arms and stretched. “What rest?”

“The handsome fee you were paid to do the job, of course,” Edward leaned his head to one side. “These records are far more useful to me than to you - but you were still hired by a third party to do this; you took more than artifacts. I saw.”

Selena gave him a silent, assessing look; her steady breath became condensation in the chilly night air.

“Therefore,” he went on, “for being the one to break down the security protocols and make your job so… _easy,_ I am due half.”

“Edward, there’s no fee,” she insisted.

“I have the camera footage recorded remotely,” he said. “All of it.”

Selena’s face twitched, annoyed. “Why?’

“Call it…” he mused, “an insurance policy.”

There was a pause as Edward waited for it to sink in; he smiled at how she twisted in disgust.

“Blackmail? Really?”

“Whether it is or not would be up to you,” he said.

“You make me sick.”

“Nevertheless.”

There was another pause. A change came over Selena’s face, expression becoming softer; Edward tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

“You know…” she said, “we could settle this… a better way.”

“No, we couldn’t,” he sighed; smirking, she took a step closer to him.

“It’d be fun.”

“I’ve done enough work for one day,” he said; Selena grinned.

“You got something against fun?”

“I got a thing against being used,” Edward said, lip curling.

“That a no?”

“As the French say, _si._ ”

“Scared I won’t have a good time?” Selena bared her teeth; Edward snickered and turned his head away. “I always do, Edward.”

“Please yourself then,” he replied, turning back with a malicious glint in his eye.

“You nervous?” she asked, resting one hand on his chest. “I’ll take care of you. Pretty thing... ”

With that, Edward’s hand snapped up to grab hold of her wrist. 

“Am I going to have to have you spayed?”

Selena frowned, surprised. “Hey… that hurts.”

“Good,” he said.

Increasing the pressure, he pushed her away with enough force to make her stumble backward.

“What the hell?” 

“I tried to be cordial,” he said. “But it seems you just can’t take no for an answer.”

“You say it, but you don’t mean it,” she snickered; Edward crossed his arms. 

“I’m not one of your toys.” 

“Please,” she waved a hand. “No one turns me down.”

“Happy to be your first, then,” he said. “I find it only hurts when you’re not ready for it.”

“Oh,” she mocked, “you don’t want me?”

“No, I don’t want you.”

“Come on. Boy like you… woman like me? I could’ve made you beg.” Edward stiffened; Selena went on, oblivious. “Are you gay?”

“I’m not,” Edward said; she found his intense gaze hard to meet. “And yet still, I say no.”

“I don’t believe you,” she scoffed.

“That I’m not gay, or that I don’t want you?”

“That you don’t want me,” she smiled, crossing her arms.

“Charming. Men don’t get to say no?”

“Men never say no.”

“So you think I’m lying?” 

“You have to be,” she said, frowning when Edward laughed in her face. “What’s so funny?”

“My outfits have never been known for their subtlety,” he said, a sardonic smile lifting one side of his mouth. “But since you’re so high on your own fumes, I’ll point you in the right direction.”

Edward took a step back and gestured at his crotch with both hands, eyebrows raised. Selena blinked in realisation, face twisting with confusion. 

“I’d say as hopelessly aroused, throbbing erections go… that’s _not_ one,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “I don’t see how I could possibly make myself any clearer.”

“I don’t get it,” she said.

“No, and you won’t get it from me, either,” Edward said, taking another step forward; Selena stepped back, getting dangerously close to the edge of the roof. “You thought I’d be easy. The nerds always are, aren’t they? Just waiting for you to make their dreams come true; falling over themselves in the attempt to kiss your feet. Silver Spoon girl like you - so used to getting what you want - all you have to do is snap your fingers and flash some cleavage -”

“Now wait just a damn minute -”

“Enough to fix a leash. But you rarely deliver. Sure, you’ll indulge when you feel like it, but mostly, you use the promise of sex as a carrot with only blown kisses and empty promises as the result. It’s you taking all you can, and giving nothing back.” Edward tilted his head with a smile. “All stick, no carrot.”

“What, I should _love_ you?”

“No, I’d prefer you simply gave me what I’m owed, rather than trying to fit me in a muzzle.”

“Can’t it be both?”

“Oh,” Edward’s eyebrows rose. “So you consider sex to be some form of remuneration?”

Wrong-footed, Selena huffed. “No, I’d call it… mutually beneficial. Something fun for you, and maybe for me.”

“We do value our skills highly, don’t we,” he smirked.

“Guess you’ll never know, now,” she lifted her chin.

“Men can be easy to manipulate, I’ll grant you,” he said. “But you’re way off the mark this time.”

Selena tilted her head to one side, unsmiling. “You some kind of robot?”

“That would be easier for you to swallow, wouldn’t it? There has to be something wrong with me,” Edward laughed; Selena crossed her arms and turned away. “We can still be useful to each other - you’re just going to have to learn to be better.”

“ _Better?_ " she scoffed, incredulous. "At what?”

“Adapting to your target, not the other way around. Now cough up,” he gestured with his fingers.

Selena reached into her inside jacket pocket with bad grace and withdrew a wad of bills. Glaring at him, she counted out his half and slammed it into his outstretched hand.

“Could’ve saved you some time and face if you’d done that from the get go.”

Selena shrugged without reply, looking away from him.

“How about,” he said, putting his money away, “a little lesson.” 

“What?” Selena snapped, not paying attention; he took a quiet moment to watch her, then lifted her chin with two fingers. 

“Look at me,” he commanded. Still sulking, she acquiesced.

“I see you,” he murmured, nodding.

“Glasses work then.”

He ignored her. 

“You always get what you want - through surrender or theft. You take more than you give - and that includes sexual pleasure,” he moved his hand to the back of her skull, kneading gently with the pads of his fingers. Selena narrowed her eyes.

“What’re you doing?”

“You want me to stop?”

“No,” she admitted; he paused before speaking again, his voice smoothing out some of the usual singsong, patronising cadence.

“I know how you see me.” 

Selena unconsciously leaned against his hand. “You do?”

“I do,” he smiled. “You see me as a plaything, already a possession of yours; just waiting to fall under your spell. A stubborn horse, needing its spirit broken. I can see in your eyes how much you want to ride me into submission. Right?”

“Right,” she said, biting her lip.

“My arrogance needs to be brought up short,” he continued. “My head should be harnessed, with the bit between my teeth.”

“Yup,” she grinned, writhing at the thought of it.

“As a man, I need to be brought to heel because all men are slaves to you. And me? A man with the nerve to be more intelligent than you?” he tutted, shaking his head at his own audacity. “Surely I should be…” he dropped his voice to a purr, “degraded. Humiliated. Forced to learn my place by any means necessary.”

“God, yeah…” she stopped, lifting her chin as she remembered herself.

“My arrogance renders me submissive by design. I need someone to put me in my place with an unyielding hand, and you want to be the one who does it. You want to make me suffer - you want to watch me crawl for you in absolute submission,” he said, “and beg you to let me come when you leave me in agony on the edge. The thought of seeing me, bent and broken, sacrificing my famous pride for the sake of release arouses you beyond belief.”

“Yeah…” she breathed, skin prickling with gooseflesh.

“You want me to be yours, so you can throw me away when you don’t want me anymore, and thus see me grovel back into your affections because it would amuse you. You might even let me take control, once or twice. But you would only be indulging me - and any misstep I make would be revisited on me tenfold…” he trailed off. Selena narrowed her eyes into the silence; the wind whipped her hair about her face as she leaned forward. 

“Don’t you fucking stop now.” 

“As you wish,” Edward chuckled. “One errant thrust would result in me going down on you for hours, bringing you to one orgasm after another as my jaw locked and my tongue… went… numb…” he raised an ironic eyebrow, “... because you know, that’s the one way to truly shut me up.”

“Yeah…” she nodded.

“That’s what you want…” he shifted his face closer to hers, “isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said, intoxicated; he moved his hand to run a caressing finger down her cheek.

“How much did I get right?”

“All of it,” she shifted, smirking. “Told you, men never say no.”

“Oh, Selena...” Edward murmured.

“Edward?” she replied, lips parted and eyes hooded with anticipation. 

“That was too easy.”

“What?” Selena said, smile falling as she blinked awake; Edward shook his head as he dropped his hand with a snicker. 

“Either you should be ashamed, or I should be proud.”

“What?” Selena repeated; she was suddenly, painfully, achingly aware of how aroused she was. Edward smiled and watched her with an irritating look on his face.

“I’ll take both. I’d say that worked, wouldn’t you?”

“You - You. Fucking tease,” she breathed; he tilted his head from side to side, stretching his neck. 

“An apt description.”

“You told me I used the stick and carrot -”

“You do,” he laughed. “I never promised any carrot, but still you begged for the stick.”

“That was a trick?”

“More of a Masterclass than a mere trick. Tell me,” he said, “how much are you suffering?”

Selena twitched her hips from side to side, senses set alight as she fought to take control of herself; Edward tilted his head with increasing amusement.

“The sight of you is,” he said, “pathetic. My kingdom for a spray bottle.”

“You’ll pay for this. You will suffer.”

“Poor dear,” he said, “you’re practically vibrating.” Selena closed her eyes and took a deep breath; he went on. “You know, there’s a chance I could put you out of your misery, if I were sufficiently persuaded - but you’d sooner die than beg, wouldn’t you?”

Selena didn’t reply; her lips pressed together as her eyes burned into his face, silent in her rage.  
“Thought so,” he said with a smile. “We have more in common than you realise - and now you can add being turned on by me to that list.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she hissed.

“There’s no need,” he said, quickly stepping close to pin her arms at her sides; distracted and slow on the uptake, Selena had no time to react. “You take me for a fool?” He snarled beside her ear, “I can smell you. You’re burning alive, and yet you still do nothing to me.” 

Edward let her go and stepped back, smirk on his lips and triumph narrowing his eyes as he ran his fingers through his hair. Unable to resist the urge, Selena looked down; her eyes widened with disbelief as he spread his hands in a showman’s gesture.

“Looks like you need to find one of your toys to whale on - though I rather fear for his chastity. You know,” he laughed, waving a hand, “in general.”

“Bastard,” she spat; he had the gall to smirk at her.

“Bastard I am - but at least I know myself. As for you - I’d say you’re an indolent brat who doesn’t like the taste of her own medicine.”

Selena lunged at him, fingers crooked into claws; seeing the attack coming he caught them, dragging her arms down and straight, making her wince in pain.

“The only way I will work with you is on equal footing, Selena.”

“No,” she insisted; he shook his head, grinning.

“Then try George Harkness - he likes the firm grip of a strong woman.”

“He’s useless.”

“Mostly, yes. Now, I’m not saying we can’t work together again. But, if you dare repeat the grievous insult of trying to use sex to manipulate me,” he murmured, voice gentle again, “I’ll destroy you.”

Selena scoffed, baring her teeth. “You’ll kill me? Just try it.”

“Not necessary,” he said, shaking his head again. “Killing you is far less fun than watching you suffer - I’ll simply ruin your life, instead. Make it completely worthless,” he brought his calm face close to her snarling one. “Much like your sad little offers of sexual congress are, to me.”

“ _Motherfucker,_ ” she said, aware of how inadequate it sounded but still needing to vent her spleen somehow. “I’ll get you for this.”

“I imagine you’ll try. Now when I let go,” Edward said with an inquisitive look, “are you done? Or are you going to try and claw my eyes out, again?”

“Haven’t decided,” she huffed. “I could kick you in the balls.”

“You could, but it’s just wounded pride talking,” he dropped his voice again. “Are you going to be a good girl now, hmm?”

Unable to speak without spitting, she nodded; he released her. 

“Now, I think you’d better do something about that frustration you’re holding on to. It’s bad for you, I hear.”

Selena glared at him and refused to move; he laughed.

“Tell you what - I’ll leave first, then you don’t have to lose any more face than you already have,” he gave her a lazy salute. “You know where to find me.”

Selena watched him swagger away in silence and then pushed her hair off her face with both hands. 

_God DAMN him,_ she cursed. _Bastard. Bastard, bastard, bastard._ After impotently stamping her feet for several minutes, she clattered down the fire escape. _The worst part is, he’s right. Now I need to fuck, or I’ll go insane._

Selena hit the ground on both feet, catching sight of Edward walking down the street, whistling to himself as he wove his way around the lampposts. 

_One day,_ she vowed. _One day._


End file.
